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THE economy’s DOA, so it’s time for the business mags to shake off the boom-time rust and show their stuff, while Rosie O’Donnell’s picked a less-than-rosy time to take on two heavyweight competitors.

Rosie‘s supposed to give those other multimedia grand dames – Martha Stewart and Oprah – a run with her new self-named title. In this debut issue, she sticks to the soft-hearted, tough gal approach that’s served her so well on TV and which – this time out, anyway – translates well to a magazine. OK, it’s schmaltzy and all over the place – packing everything from pancake recipes to how to cure a gambling addiction – but if you want celebs, she’s got ’em and she uses ’em well. Madonna shares her favorite makeup, while Tracey Ullman, Marilu Henner and Jane Seymour offer up parenting tips. Even Linda Richman – the inspiration behind “Coffee Talk” – weighs in with a column. But it’s not all fluff – not by a long shot. In a hard-nosed Q&A, cover girl Fran Drescher (shown with Rosie lurking behind her) tells Rosie of her recent battle with uterine cancer (oh, they get right into it – “I had mid-month staining,” is the “Nanny” star’s lead-off). And, elsewhere, Rosie rolls out heavyweight writers such as Wendy Wasserstein (on a cardiganed Uma Thurman’s work with – what else? – kids) and even Jim Dwyer, of all people. Neither as precious as Martha nor as saintly as Oprah, Rosie could build a decent niche if she can keep this up – a big “if” in the current market, mind you. Otherwise, it’ll be a minor collectible.

Forbes and BusinessWeek have their big lists out this week and Business Week is the winner by more than a stride. Its “Best Performers” list dominates – it’s comprehensive, and we especially liked the focus on the ranked company’s CEOs and their strategies. By giving most stories a forward-looking slant, this mag proves a necessary handbook for investors.

By comparison, Forbes‘ lists and supporting stories come up looking weak. But elsewhere, the mag does manage a hidden treat or two. Lea Goldman’s feature on former National Enquirer owner Lois Pope is a guilty pleasure. And the story on Duane Reade’s Tony Cuti and his aggressive expansion will be of particular interest to New Yorkers.

This week’s Economist, mind candy for the wordy and worldly, highlights wealthy nations’ growing fears as almost ½ million immigrants applied for sanctuary last year in 25 European countries. As always, the writing is insightful and intelligent. But the packed format makes it probably the only weekly that’s impossible to finish cover-to-cover by the time the next issue comes in.

You want economic gloom and doom? Fortune obliges this week with its lengthy cover story, “Nightmare on Easy Street,” discussing the widening worry gap-“the difference between how people assess their current situation (not so bad) and their expectations of the future (increasingly pessimistic).” Conclusion: Growing pessimism about the economy and the falling stock market scares consumers into spending less – a dismal spiral. Elsewhere, a how-to on hammering out a severance package makes for a nice antidote.

With cold rain lashing the Big Apple, it’s hard to get hot and bothered about Global Warming – but Time‘s cover package is a scalding splash in the face. Time faults George W. Bush for a lack of commitment and EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman for a lack of action. And we wonder how many really adhere to the conservation recommendations Time outlines.

Pass the vicodin and put us out of our misery. Newsweek is the latest mag to jump on the pain-killer addiction epidemic. Its cover story takes the trend a step further with Cindy McCain’s personal story and the tale of Hazard, Ky., where it seems OxyContin (the poor man’s heroin) touches all who live there. Adding to the pain is an excerpt from the new book, “American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing.” It’s full of McVeigh bon mots such as, “I’ll be glad to leave this f—up world . . . this world just doesn’t hold anything for me.”

Though we love to see how the other half lives, New York‘s semiannual home design issue only serves to make us wonder where these featured “artists” keep their day-to-day junk – stacks of bills, newspapers, shoes. Elsewhere, now that go-go is gone, Michael Wolff believes dumb is the new smart, good news for most of us, except in the New York public schools. And just in time for spring shopping sprees, the “Shops” supplement hits with 1,500 recommendations of where to buy.

It’s slim pickins in this week’s New Yorker, with a 37-page insert smack dab in the middle of the publication advertising the mag’s upcoming festival. But what is not self-promotional is well-done, as usual, especially Katherine Boo’s story on former welfare mom Elizabeth Jones and her three children in Washington, D.C. It’s optimistic, but tinged with the hardships that would’ve stoppped a less tenacious woman.